I saved the entire sect by playing idly by letting things fall apart.

After leaving the main peak, Ye Qiao lay on the couch, feeling utterly hopeless, unable to understand how things had developed to this point.

Personal disciples, inner disciples, outer disciples.

The most important task for the direct disciples is to participate in the competition, attend classes and train together. According to Mu Chongxi, there is also an inner elder who personally trains his reaction speed, and he gets beaten up in class every day.

Ye Qiao had feigned sympathy for him back then, but now it was her turn.

When they learned that Ye Qiao was going to move to the main peak, the outer disciples who knew her were the most shocked.

Ye Qiao became a personal disciple? Who the hell gave her that special treatment?

"She used to be even worse than me in class," someone muttered resentfully.

"yes."

"He's not very talented and his test scores are poor. Even if we're going to choose a personal disciple, we should choose from within the inner sect."

"Isn't Senior Sister Ning more suitable than her?"

Ning Qing is an inner disciple of the Changming Sect. She has a superior fire spirit root and reached the Foundation Establishment stage at the age of sixteen. Even in a major sect, she is a talented little genius.

She thought she had secured the fifth spot as a direct disciple, but unexpectedly, an outer disciple appeared out of nowhere.

If the other person is more outstanding than her, then it's fine.

However, Ning Qing discovered upon inquiring that not only was her talent lacking, but her monthly assessment results were also extremely mediocre.

How can someone like that be appointed as a protégé?

Du Chun helped her pack her things in the yard. The two had known each other for two months and got along well. When he first heard that she was leaving, he was quite reluctant to let her go.

"You're something else, kid." He patted her on the shoulder. "You became a personal disciple without making a sound."

That's an identity that so many people crave but can't attain.

Ye Qiao, however, wore a long face, as if her parents had died.

Du Chun said with exasperation, "Smile! What's with that long face?"

Ye Qiao gave a bitter smile.

Du Chun: "..." Okay.

Let's stop laughing.

He helped her tidy up the things in the yard. Ye Qiao was very poor. Apart from the broken sword, she had put the spirit stones into her mustard seed bag. There were four talismans pasted on the wall, but he didn't know what they were for.

Ye Qiao took a deep breath, roused herself, tore off the talisman, and then called out to Du Chun.

"Wait a minute." She figured she wouldn't be coming down from the main peak anytime soon, after all, there were over nine hundred stone steps, and just thinking about it made her legs weak.

Meeting Du Chun's puzzled gaze, Ye Qiao buried her head and rummaged through the mustard seed bag.

She was so sad last night that she couldn't sleep and drew dozens of talismans all night long.

"This is a spirit-gathering talisman," Ye Qiao told him exactly where to stick it, "so you can cultivate while lying down at night."

Du Chun looked at the talismans in his hand suspiciously: "Really?"

It's not that I don't trust Ye Qiao, it's just that there really is such a wonderful thing as being able to cultivate while lying down?

Ye Qiao said, "You can try it. I've used it before."

After quickly packing her things, Ye Qiao slung her bag over her shoulder and prepared to set off.

As soon as she stepped out of the courtyard, a snow-white sword light pointed directly at her. Ye Qiao calmly looked up and met the cold gaze of a young girl.

Ye Qiao sighed and tentatively pushed the sword away, "Senior sister, let's talk this out. Changming Sect forbids drawing swords."

Ning Qing's expression turned even colder from her calm and composed attitude.

She found out where Ye Qiao lived early this morning and stormed over there in a huff.

"What makes you qualified to be a personal disciple?" Ning Qing glared at her fiercely. "Just because you have a good relationship with Senior Brother Mu?"

"Otherwise, why would a piece of trash like you with a mid-grade spiritual root be allowed to stay on the main peak and cultivate with Senior Brother Mingxuan?"

Ye Qiao was stared at by her jealous gaze, and after a long while, she uttered softly, "You have no idea how envious I am of you."

Ning Qing: "?"

Looking at Ye Qiao's seemingly genuine expression of grief, she couldn't help but feel a huge question mark above her head.

"What do you envy about me? Are you envious that I didn't become a disciple?" If it weren't for the genuine sadness in her expression, Ning Qing would have even suspected that she was mocking her.

Ye Qiao was silent for a moment, then uttered softly, "I envy all of you who don't have to work hard."

Ning Qing: "..." Is something wrong with you?

While the two were facing off, the young man walked into the courtyard and said, "I'm leaving."

His tone was languid, his body was crooked, and his gray robes showed no trace of what one would expect from a senior disciple.

Ye Qiao withdrew her gaze from Ning Qing's, picked up her small bundle, and walked to the young man's side.

"Senior Brother?" she called out tentatively.

She had met Xue Yu, Ming Xuan, and Mu Chongxi, but Zhou Xingyun was the only one she hadn't seen.

In the novel, the eldest disciple is a handsome but gloomy guy who teeters on the brink of suicide every day. In the end, he is saved by the gentle and kind-hearted female lead.

Thus, Zhou Xingyun diligently joined the female lead's harem.

Zhou Xingyun gave a lazy "hmm".

He then subtly looked her over, reached out and patted the girl's upturned hair, pressing it down.

Ye Qiao tilted her head in confusion and touched the stubborn little tuft of hair that had stood up again.

Zhou Xingyun frowned slightly, staring intently at Ye Qiao's ahoge (cowlick).

He reached out and pressed her hand back down.

Ye Qiao pondered: ...Could her senior brother have obsessive-compulsive disorder?

……

Upon reaching the summit, abundant spiritual energy instantly filled his entire body, as if every pore on his body had opened up. Ye Qiao let out a comfortable sigh. No wonder cultivators in the cultivation world were scrambling to become his disciples.

The spiritual energy of the main peak alone was so rich that she couldn't move.

After Zhou Xingyun brought the person to the main peak, he immediately became a hands-off manager, lifting his junior sister off the sword like a chick and handing her over to Xue Yu.

"Your junior sister."

His voice was slow and deliberate.

Without looking back, Zhou Xingyun turned and left. He was afraid that if he didn't leave soon, he would lose his temper and cut off the tuft of hair standing up on her head with his sword.

Zhou Xingyun was too fast, and Ye Qiao felt a little dizzy from the sword. After a while, she was led by Xue Yu in a crooked and wobbly way to a quiet bamboo forest.

Ye Qiao was unfamiliar with the process and followed Xue Yu around the whole time, occasionally asking in confusion, "Senior brother, doesn't the Changming Sect have an acceptance ceremony for disciples?"

Xue Yu paused slightly. "No."

After he finished speaking, perhaps feeling that he seemed too cold, the boy added, "None of the four of us had done this before."

Ye Qiao asked, puzzled, "Why do other sects have this?"

She remembered that when the female protagonist was accepted as a disciple by the Yueqing Sect in the original novel, it was a grand affair with congratulations from all directions. How come it was so simple and unrefined when it came to their Changming Sect?

Upon hearing this, Xue Yu coughed slightly and covered his lips with his fist: "Perhaps it's because we don't have enough funds?"

Ye Qiao gave a dry "Oh".

To put it bluntly, they're poor.

In the cultivation world, the most profitable professions are those who cultivate talismans and those who cultivate pills.

Their sect has very few alchemists and talisman cultivators, so naturally they are not as wealthy as the other sects.

Xue Yu caught a glimpse of her miserable expression and couldn't help but smile. As they walked, he explained to her, "We only have two classes to attend."

"They are a mental cultivation course and a training course."

"An elder will be there to teach us during both classes..." Xue Yu glanced at Ye Qiao, knowing she might be struggling to keep up, and gently reassured her, "If you don't understand something, you can ask an elder or come to me."

This was exactly the same explanation given by the school, which brought tears to Ye Qiao's eyes.

What a terrible mess she's made.

Having finally graduated from high school and been released from prison, he was transported to another prison a few years later.

Upon entering the bamboo forest, a dense spiritual energy swept over her, almost suffocating her.

She finally understood why the direct disciples' cultivation levels were so far ahead of ordinary people.

This wildly surging spiritual energy is inexhaustible.

Xue Yu noticed her discomfort, sighed softly, and tossed Ye Qiao a white jade porcelain bottle. "Swallow this. It's a Spirit Strengthening Pill. You might feel much better later."

Ultimately, her cultivation level was still too low, and the purity of her spiritual root was too low, making it impossible for her to absorb much spiritual energy.

Ye Qiao took it and was slightly taken aback.

Although she didn't know much about alchemy, she did know about the Spirit-Stabilizing Pill.

The original work mentioned the use of this elixir. Cultivation requires taking one step at a time, steadily and practically. If the foundation is not stable, although the realm may be raised, it will be much weaker compared to others of the same realm.

The Spirit Stabilizing Pill can stabilize spiritual energy. Those whose cultivation levels are unstable and who rely on rare and precious treasures can quickly build a solid foundation after consuming it.

Even a genius like Xue Yu could only master three versions of the technique within three years at the Changming Sect.

In the novel, Xue Yu truly lives up to his "warm-hearted backup lover" persona, diligently dedicating all the pills he concocted to the female lead.

The female lead even took it out to give away, making quite a splash.

Is there still a share left for her?

Ye Qiao was somewhat flattered.

"Third Senior Brother." She gripped the white jade bottle tightly, pursed her lips, and said crisply as the boy tilted his head in confusion, "You're so kind."

Xue Yu met the girl's bright eyes, paused for a moment, and then laughed.

It's so cute.

My junior sister is indeed very polite.

He's nothing like Mu Chongxi, that kind of idiot who only knows how to take.

As the two entered the training ground one after the other, Mu Chongxi's wails and Ming Xuan's gloating chatter could be heard from afar.

Ye Qiao was holding a Spirit-Stabilizing Pill in her mouth when she saw a shooting star streak across the sky and then crash heavily to the ground.

Ye Qiao exclaimed in surprise, "What a fast birdman!"

Then the "birdman" struggled to his feet, and she realized that it wasn't a birdman at all, but Mu Chongxi.

Mu Chongxi grinned as he got up from the ground, shouting menacingly, "Mingxuan, do you want to fight?"

"Am I afraid of you?" Mingxuan's smile vanished, and he picked up several talismans in his hand.

The atmosphere became tense and hostile.

Ye Qiao's lips twitched: "Is this how you all interact in private?"

They wished they could stab each other in the back.

Xue Yu's tone was calm, clearly unfazed by such things. "Yes. Just wait until they're done fighting, there's no need to worry."

Ye Qiao loved joining in the fun. Her eyes lit up slightly, and she asked excitedly, "Really!"

Let's fight! Let's fight! Let's fight!

She's never seen anyone fight before.

Xue Yu turned his head, why did he have the illusion that his junior sister was very excited?

Ye Qiao realized her expression was off, and she immediately put on a grief-stricken look, "Really?"

Xue Yu: "..."

Don't think that just because you change your expression I can't see your eagerness to try.